EPA cleaning up contaminated yards in Columbia neighborhood

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Federal environmental crews are continuing their work removing and replacing dirt from a contaminated neighborhood in Columbia.
The Environmental Protection Agency believes it will eventually remove over 2,500 cubic yards of soil from 11 properties in the Edisto Court community. So far, the EPA’s on-scene coordinator Rick Jardine estimates between 1,000 to 1,200 yards of soil have been removed since work began last week. The cleanup comes about three months after teams found elevated levels of lead and arsenic in the ground.
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control officials suspect the contamination is due to a fertilizer plant that operated in the area early in the 20th Century. It’s believed that toxic runoff made its way into a nearby pond which was eventually drained to build the neighborhood.
“We don’t want anyone to be put in harm’s way, so we’re trying to serve the community as best we can,” Jardine said. “It’s unfortunate that no one was aware of this contamination until DHEC actually discovered it (while examining another site).”
The eleven properties had levels of the toxic metals that were above federal safety standards of 400 parts per million (PPM) for lead and 39 PPM for arsenic. Three properties had to be completely excavated, Jardine said. The entire cleanup is expected to cost about $500,000-$750,000, he said. A few other properties had contamination deep enough in the soil that EPA officials believed it was unlikely to pose a public health hazard.
The EPA says it has determined the levels are low enough that the soil can be placed in a landfill without any further treatment. Crews began transporting the soil off-site on Tuesday.
Jardine says crews hope to “substantially complete” before Christmas. “We’re really fortunate that we’ve had great weather and we’ve great community assistance and help,” he said, “There will be some things that will linger. We’re putting back grass and some shrubbery and sometimes you have a difficult time getting those to grow in the winter.”
Jardine said the local residents were supportive so far and have all agreed to have their yards excavated. He said the cleanup would cost up to $750,000.

EPA cleaning up contaminated yards in Columbia neighborhood